Need something easy and flavorful to throw on the grill this weekend? This Greek Marinated Chicken is it.
The marinade for this chicken (similar to what I used for this Chicken Shawarma ) takes just a few minutes to stir together and creates an absolute explosion of flavor. It’s incredible. I only marinated my chicken in this magical mix for 30 minutes, but the flavor was still loud and clear. Once marinated, you can grill the chicken outdoors over a gas or charcoal flame, or (if you don’t have a grill) you can bake it in the oven. Either way, you’ll get a super flavorful and moist end product.
I served this Greek Marinated Chicken with my Lemony Cucumber and Couscous Salad, which was the perfect cold summer side, and incorporated both starches and vegetables into the meal. Two birds with one stone!
Greek Marinated Chicken
Greek Marinated Chicken
Servings 8 piecesIngredients
- 1 cup plain yogurt ($0.63)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced ($0.32)
- 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano ($0.08)
- 1 medium lemon ($0.49)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- freshly cracked pepper ($0.05)
- 1/4 bunch fresh parsley ($0.20)
- 3 1/2 to 4 lbs chicken pieces ($6.86)
Instructions
- To make the marinade, combine the yogurt, olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Use a fine holed cheese grater or a zester to scrape the thin layer of yellow zest from the lemon skin into the bowl. Also add the juice from half of the lemon (about 1-2 Tbsp). Stir until the ingredients are well combined. Roughly chop a big handful, or about 1/4 bunch, of parsley and stir it into the marinade.
- Add the chicken pieces and marinade to a gallon sized zip top bag. Remove as much air as possible, close the bag tightly, and massage the bag to mix the contents and make sure the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate the bag for 30 minutes.
- After marinating for 30 minutes, either cook the chicken on a grill OR preheat the oven to 375 degrees in preparation to bake the chicken.
- To bake the chicken, place the chicken pieces in a large casserole dish (9×13). Bake the chicken in the preheated 375 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Step by Step Photos for Greek Marinated Chicken
First prepare the marinade. Combine the yogurt, olive oil, oregano, minced garlic, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Add the zest from one lemon and the juice from about half of it (1-2 Tbsp). Stir these ingredients until well combined.
Add a handful, or about 1/4 bunch, of roughly chopped parsley. This is your finished marinade (or a REALLY awesome dip!).
I used about 3.75 pounds of chicken pieces (drumsticks and thighs). You could easily half this Greek Marinated Chicken recipe, if needed.
Add the chicken pieces and the marinade to a large, gallon-sized zip top bag and mix it around to make sure the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate the bag for 30 minutes.
After marinating, you can either grill the chicken or bake it. I don’t have an outdoor grill, so I decided to bake it. Place the chicken pieces in a large casserole dish. I ended up pouring the extra marinade over top, but later realized that this just made it take longer to brown, so I don’t suggest doing so. There is plenty of flavor in the marinade that you won’t need to add the extra.
Bake the chicken in a preheated 375 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, or until it is golden brown. It will smell SO good! Now eat!
I served this Greek Marinated Chicken with my Lemony Cucumber and Couscous salad and it was PERFECT! :D
This is such an easy recipe, with hardly any cleanup. And, the sauce is Amazing. I added a couple of more herbs to it, and used dried parsley instead, and it was so good. I even put it on a flat-bread with some veggie meatballs for a gyro.
For the people that complained of the lack of flavoring, I’d suggest you season your chicken before marinating it. That’s what I did.
Delicious sounding recipe!
Sadly I found the recipe on Facebook when a friend shared it from someone else’s page.
There were no links back to you. You can find your content here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=637340836299091&set=a.512777942088715.120805.512745725425270&type=1&theater
Thanks for the heads up!
Just made this tonight, family gave this an 8.5 out of ten. Only thing were my chicken legs didn’t brown as nicely as the thighs, but the dish was really good!! Thanks for the recipe!!
This is “Greek” chunk but calls pain yogurt…am I to assume that’s Greek yogurt?
Nope, I just used regular plain yogurt. The recipe itself is Greek flavors, but the yogurt doesn’t need to be the thick Greek style yogurt. Actually, Greek style yogurt would probably be too thick to make a good marinade anyway :)
Such a great recipe! So moist and flavorful!
Yummy! I used boneless skinless thighs and it was delish. BBQ them and they turned out great. Used greek plain yogurt, not sure if it makes a diff but that’s what I had and this is going into the rotation. found the link on pinterest
Don’t try to be cute and “use what you have” when it comes to chicken. In my case, I decided to try it with chicken breasts. I think if I would have followed the recipe and used chicken pieces with skin, it would have been phenomenal. The flavor was still very good, but the texture wasn’t there (my mistake).
To make up for it, though, I used a little Zesty Italian dressing and hoped the Zesty Guy would manifest before my eyes. Spoiler alert: It didn’t happen.
False advertising! ;)
When done in the oven should I cover it w Tin Foil?.. & Also I have a problem w my chicken when I leave my skin on it seems to get slimy?.. Thanks!
No, I would not suggest covering it with foil because that will hold in the steam and make the skin soggy (and then it will never brown). The sliminess that you’re talking about is the fat layer under the skin and there really isn’t a way to get rid of that. You could definitely do this recipe with skinless breasts, though!
Just came across this delicious recipe. I have a whole chicken thawing. Do u think the recipe would work well with a whole chicken?
Hmm, not sure. But, I suppose a whole chicken isn’t much different than the chicken pieces I used, except they’re all attached :) There might be less surface area for the marinade to do it’s thing, but otherwise I think it should be fine.
I am marinated it overnight for dinner tomorrow. We will see what happens. This will go great with some rice and a greek salad. I love this site! I could not stop tasting the marinade, so I know the chicken will be great.
Hello, can the marinade time be more than the 30 mins?
Yep, although some say to not marinate meat for too long (how long is too long is also subjective) because it can break down the meat too much and make it almost mushy. I’ve never actually had that happen, though.
Can this marinate over night?
Was preparing this when my husband brought home dinner. :)
Would love to serve it tomorrow.
I’ve never tried it that long, but I definitely wouldn’t toss it without trying!
If it tastes good, I bet you could use dried dill as a substitute! This is on the menu this week so I will come back with a report!
Have you ever tried adding fresh dill to make it taste more like tzatziki sauce? I think when I make this (can’t wait) I might try to add a little!
Haven’t tried it yet, but definitely want to! Fresh dill isn’t very available around here, unfortunately.
Made this tonight and loved it! Made it with boneless skinless because that’s all I had and added a bit more garlic and a bit more lemon. It is soo good and flavorful! Will make again and I will be bookmarking this site!